Machine for making chair-seats.



L. G. MOKNIGHT.

PATENTED MAY 5, 1908.

MACHINE POR MAKING CHAIR SEATS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30,1905.

4 sun'rssnnm 1.

1n: Nomus PErxRs co.. Humm-ram n. c.

PATBNTED MAY 5; 1908.V

y L. G. MOKNIGHT. MACHINE PoR MAKING GHAIR SEATS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 30,` 1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

PATENTED MAY 5, 1908.

L. G. MUKNIGHT. MACHINE. FOB. MAKING CHAIR SEATS.

APYLIOATION FILED SEPT, 30,1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

.R .R mw vwl ...w o M., .Nm Nm wv. A R A A I M. y@ um A @n A. I il..-MWIM l V 1.- m N. M. mi N Y @avm/wm,

TH: Nokms PETERs ca.. mxsnmcmu. D. cA

PATENTBD MA 5, 1908.

L. G. MUKNIGHT.

MACHINE POR MAKING CHAIRSEATS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 80, 1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Mlllllllllllll ||x IHIIHHI I Zan l/vk" d CU WASHINGTON. D C4 uNrrnDsTATEs LEVI G. HCKNIGHT, OF GARDNER, MASSACHUSETTS.

MACHINE FOR MAKING CHAIR-SEATS.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Patented May 5, 1908.

Application filed September 30, 1905. Serial No. 280,756.

T o all whom 'it may Concern.'

Be it known that I, LEVI G. MCKNIGHT, a citizen of the United States,residing at Gardner, in the county of Vorcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Machine for MakingChair-Seats, ol' which the following is a specification.

The object ol this invention is to provide a new and improved machinefor cutting out wooden chair or settee seats.

The particular aim of the invention is to provide a simple and efficientapparatus for this purpose by which Work can be produced with greatrapidity and by which the same is done under the full inspection andcontrol of the operator.

A machine constitutingr one embodiment of this invention is illustratedin the accompanying four sheets or drawings, referring to which,

Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine. Fig. 2 is a side elevationthereof. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation thereof. Fig. 4 is a detailhereinafter referred to. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing a modified formof gearing to be used when the cam shaft is to be turned more slowly tomake settee seats. Fig. 6 is a detail view showing the shape of cam forcutting a settee seat. Fig. 7 is a perspective View showing one form ofsettee seat which can be made. Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing asecond form of settee seat which can be made, and Fig. 9 is a detailview showing the shape of cam used in cutting the form of settee seatshown in Fig. 8.

The invention will best be understood by describing the details and theoperation of the machine illustrated.

In detail, A designates a suitable frame. Fitted so as to be capable ofa reci rocating motion thereon is a table or work-liolder B. This tablehas suitable clamps 10 by which the block or blank which is to be formedinto a chair-seat can be clamped or laid in place thereon.

12 Vdesignates a cutter-shaft which has a cutter C removably securedthereto. This construction is adapted so that cutter blades of differentshape may be employed, depending upon the contour or shape which is tobe given to the particular chair-seat. The removable cutter blade C isheld to said shaft by screws or bolts 13. A pulley 14 is arranged on theend of said shaft c12 and power may be applied to the machine by a belttrained around said pulley. On the other end of the shaft 12 is arrangeda pulley 15 which connects by a belt 16 to a pulley 17 journaled on astud 18 projecting from the framing, Pivoted on said stud is an arm 19which carries a belt tightener 20 which rests on the belt 16 so as tokeep the same under Y i constant tension. Turning with the pulley 17 isa small pulley 21 which connects by a belt 22 to a pulley 23 mounted ona countershaft 24. Arranged on this counter-shaft 24 is a small pulley25 and a large pulley 26.

pulley 27 is driven from the pulley 25 by means of an open belt 28, anda pulley 29 is driven from pulley 26 by means of a crossbelt 30. By thisarrangement the pulleys 27 and 29 will turn oppositely.

The pulleys 27 and 29 as shown in Fig. 3,

are loosely arranged on a shaft 31, and have opposing clutch teeth 32.The shaft 31 has a key-way cut therein, and keyed and fitted to slideaxially on said shaft is a doubleclutch 33. This clutch normally canstand in position to clear the clutch teeth on the pulleys 27 and 29,but can be moved to engage the clutch teeth of either pulley. The doubleclutch 33 is controlled and operated said double clutch. The operatingarm 34 is adjustably secured on a rod 35 which is by an operating arm 34which is notched at if its upper end and which engages a groove infittedso as to be capable of an axial movement in the framing. The rod 35 isnormally moved to the right, as shown in Fig. 3, by a spring 36connected between the arm 34 and the framing. A bell-crank lever 37 ispivoted to a bracket extending in from the framing and to a block fittedon the rod 35. l

The outwardly projecting end of the bellcrank lever 37 is connected by alink 38 to an operating handle 39. The operating handle 39 is secured ona shaft 40 journaled in the framing.

Ablock 41 is adjustably secured on the rod 35. A catch-rod 45 as shownin Fig. 4 is arranged in suitable bearings and on a bolt secured in theframing, so as to be capable of a vertical motion. This catch-rod isarranged in motion to drop in behind the block 41 and hold thedouble-clutch 33 in its left-hand position. A link 46 is pivoted to theframing and connected to said catch-rod 45. A cam 47 is arranged on theunder side sion.

of the table to engage said pivoted link 46. A rod 48 is arranged toslide horizontally under the table and is connected to an arm 49 securedon the handle-shaft 40. Fitted to slide on bolts screwed into theframing are rods 50-50 which connect to arms 52-52 secured on thehandle-shaft 40. A pin 51 is arranged in each of the cams D, hereinafterreferred to, in position to engage the end of one of the rods 50. Therods 50 also serve to hold the cutter up out of operative positionduring the return of the work-carriage by engaging beneath the rollers66 which are normally supported by the shaping cams hereinafter referredto. A pinion 54 is secured on the shaft 31. An intermediate shaft 55 isj ournaled in the framing and carries a gear 56 with which the pinion 54meshes. Also arranged on the intermediate shaft 55 is a pinion 57 whichmeshes with a gear 58 secured on a shaft 59 which I term the cam-shaft.This gear 58 meshes with a rack 60 secured on the under side of thetable B. By this construction, as hereinafter described, the table willbe reciprocated back and forth.

The cutter-shaft 12 is j ournaledin boxes 61 pivoted in supports 62,which latter are fitted so as to be capable of vertical motion in theframing and which are held in place by gibs. The boxes 61 are held insaid supports laterally by screws 63, whereby the position of the boxescan be adjusted. Threaded into the bottom of each support is a screw 65.Each of these screws rests on a projection adjustable vertically in eachsupport, and extending out therefrom. A roller 66 is arranged in linewith each of said projections, and these rollers bear on cams D-Darranged on the ends of the cam shaft 59 during the operating or cuttingpart of the stroke, andare supported on the rods 50 during the idle orreturn part of the stroke. Each cam D has a removable face E which formsan operative section thereof, the remaining section of the cams beingcircular. These removable faces E are held in place by bolts or screwse. By this arrangement, different faces can be used on the cams to givedifferent shapes to various kinds of work. A rod 67 is connected to eachsupport and each rodv extends down through a guide 68 pivoted on thecamshaft 59. A spring 69 is arranged upon each rod and the tension ofthese springs can be adjusted by nuts 70. B this arrangement, therollers 66 will be he d to the cams D by a spring ten- Rollers F-F arearranged one at each side of the cutter C. These rollers F-F arejournaled in boxes 71 which are tted so as to be capable of verticalmotion in the framing. `The lowest position of these boxes is controlledb screws 72. Rods 73 are fitted Vso as to side vertically in the framingand the end of each of these rods is bent around in the form of ahook'to engage the top of its box 71. A spring 74 is arranged on each ofthese rods and the tension of these springs can be adjusted by nuts 75arranged on the lower ends of the rods 73. In this way the rollers areheld down with a spring tension.

The o eration of the mechanism is as follows: ,'lhe cutter C and camfaces E-E, which are adapted for the' particular work desired, are lacedin the machine. The operator usual y stands at the left-hand of themachine, as shown in Fig. 2. The table is stopped in its extremeleft-hand position. The work or blank is placed in the clamps 10. Theoperator then pulls the handle 39 towards him. This moves thedoubleclutch 33 to the left, as shown in Fig. 3, and causes thedouble-clutch to engage the clutch teeth of the pulley 27. This, bymeans of the gearing before described, will cause the table to moveforward or to the right, as shown in Fig. 2. This movement will pass thework under the cutter C which is revolving at a high rate of speed. Asthis movement takes place, the cutter-shaft will be raised and loweredby the cams D so that the work will be given the proper shape, the shapeof the cutter blades and the contour of the cams being designed to cut achair seat of any desired pattern. When the doubleclutch v33 is moved tothe left, to cause the table to move forward, the sliding catch-rod 45drops in behind the adjustable block 41 and holds the clutch inengagement and when the work is passed under the cutter and the tablereaches its right-hand extreme, the cam 47 on the table will engage thepivoted link 46 which will raise the catch-rod 45 clear of the block.The spring 36 will now throw the rod 35 and hence the double-clutch 33to the right and this action will be helped by the cam engaging the rod48. This movement of the double-clutch 33 to the right will cause thesame to engage the clutch teeth on the pulley 29. When this engagementtakes place the motion of the table will be reversed as the pulley 29 isturning oppositely relatively to the pulley 27 and the table will bereturned, which return movement will be quicker than the forward or feedmovement, as the pulley 26 is larger than the pulley 25. Although themotion of the cam-shaft is reversed during the idle or return stroke ofthe bed, the cutter will be held up out of contact with the work by theengagement of the camrolls 66 with the rods 50. As the. table reachesthe end of its return movement, the pins 51 on the cams D will push onthe end of the rods 50 and will move the double-clutch to its middle orinoperative position, as shown in Fig. 3. This movement will leave theoperating handle 39 in position to be pulled to the left, as shown inFig. 2, for the next operation. The operator then removes the finishedchair-seat and puts in a new block and proceeds as before. Thespringpressed rolls F-F tend to keep the work rigidly down on the tablewhile it is acted upon by the revolving cutter C. By this arrangement itwill be seen that all the operator has to do after putting the work inplace, is to pull the handle, when the work vill be fed forward andreturned and automatically stopped in position to be removed.

In addition to cutting single chair-seats a machine constructedaccording to this invention is also well adapted for cutting or moldingsettee seats of various forms. This may be done by using a longwork-carriage and either turning the shaping cams at a slower speedrelatively to the feed of the carriage, as shown in Figs. 5 and or byusing a doublecam, as shown in Fig. 9.

Referringl toFig. 5, a driving pinion 580 corresponding to the drivingpinion 5S instead of being fastened to the cam-shaft 59 is made integralwith a smaller gear 90, and is secured longitudinally in place on thecamshaft 59 by collars 91, said double-gear formed by parts 580 andbeing free on the shaft 59. Y larger gear 92 on a counter-shaft 93. Alsofastened on the countershaft 93 is a gear 94 meshing with a larger gear95 on the camshaft 59. ln the particular construction illustrated, thegear 90 is one-half the size of gear 92, and gear 94 is one-half thesize of gear 95, sothat the cani-shaft 59 is turned at one-quarter thespeed of the table operating gear 580. `When this arrangement of gearingis employed, a cam 96, shown in Fig. 6, may be employed for cutting theform of settee seat vW shown in Fig. 7, which seat l has a molded-outportion C of uniform depth. lith this modified form of gearing the sameautomatic reversing mechanism may be employed, it being noted merelythatthe cams are turned at one-quarter the speed that is used whensingle saddle seats are molded.

ln order to employ a machine constructed according to this invention tocut a settee seat, such as N, shown in Fig. S, with a series of separatemolded-out seats C, it is simply necessary to use the form of camillustrated in 9, which has two similar operating faces 97 and 98. Vhenthis form of cam is used the pinion for operating the automaticreversing devices is omitted, and the reversing handle will be operatedby hand to reverse the feed whenever the cam-rollers are on the highpoints of the cam, two revolutions of the cam-shaft being permitted whena four division settee-seat is to be molded, as shown in Fig. S, and acorresponding increase of revolutions being permitted according to thelength of the seat which it is desired to shape. Thus a simple andefficient apparatus for the purposes mentioned is provided which has agreat range .of adjustment.

Meshing with the gear 90 is av The details and arrangements herein shownand described may be greatly varied by a skilled mechanic withoutdeparting from the scope of my invention as expressed in the claims.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is 1. In a wood-working machine, thecombination of a work table, means for reciprocating the table, areversing clutch, a sliding rod for operating the reversing clutch, ablock adjustably secured on said rod, a catch rod adapted to move intoposition to engage said block so as to prevent the motion of saidsliding rod for reversing the clutch, said catch rod being reciprocableat an angle to the direction of motion of said rod, a link pivoted tosaid catch rod, a sliding rod with which said link is also pivotallyconnected, and a cam on the table for engaging said link to move thecatch rod at a certain position on the table, whereby the firstmentioned slid-y ing rod may be left free to move.

. L.. ln a wood-working machine, the combinationof a moving table, areversing clutch therefor, means for operating said reversing clutch, acatch rod slidably mounted and adapted to move into position to preventthe reversing of the clutch, a link pivoted to said catch rod, a shaft,a sliding rod connected with said shaft to be operated thereby, said rodhaving a slot, said link being pivotally connected with said rod throughsaid slot, a handle on said shaft for operating it, and a cam on thework table for engaging said link and moving the catch rod out ofoperative position.

3. In a wood-working machine, the combination of a frame, a set ofvertically movable supports thereon, boXes pivotally mounted in saidsupports, cutter shafts journaled in said boxes, a work table, a cam forvertically moving said supports, a shaft on which said cam is located, arod connected with said supports, a guide for said rod supported by saidshaft, and a spring located between said guide and the end of said rodfor drawing the support onto the cam.

4. In a wood-working machine, the combination of a frame, a set ofmovable supports thereon, a cutter shaft supported by said supports, awork table movable under said cutter shaft, a cam shaft, a cam thereon,a guide on the cam shaft, a rod passing through said guide and connectedwith said supports, and a spring on said rod for forcing the supportstoward the cam.

5. In a wood-working machine, the combination of a bodily movablecutter, a work table movable thereunder, means for raising the cutter, apin moving with said means, a rod adapted to support the cutter when thecutter is not supported by said means for raising it and located in aposition to be engaged by said pin, and means adapted to be operated bysaid rod for stopping the machine'.

6. In a machine for making seats, the com bination of a cutter, areciprocating Worktable, a cam for moving the cutter While theWork-table is on its forward stroke, and means for supporting the cutterout of con nection with the cam during the return stroke.

7 In a machine for making seats, the combination of a cutter, areciprocating Worktable, a cam, a projection or roller engaged by thecam to move the cutter while the Work is being presented thereto, andmeans for supporting the cutter t0 hold the projection or cam-roller outofengagement with its cam during the return stroke of the table.

8. In a machine for making seats, the combination of a cutter, 'areciprocating Worktable, cams, projections or cam-rolls supported bysaid cams for moving the cutter While 'the Work'is being presentedthereto, a reversing handle, and connections operated therefrom forreversing the travel of the carriage, and supporting rods engaging theprojections or cam-rolls and holding the same out of engagement withtheir cams during lthe return movement of the bed.

9. In a machine for making seats, the combination of a cutter, areciprocating Worktable, cams turning in one direction While the tableis on its forward stroke, and in the other direction While the table Aison the return stroke, said cams serving to move the rock shaft andadapted to hold the cutter elevated during part of the stroke of theWork table, and means connected With the cutter raising and loweringdevice for moving the said rod to rockrthe shaft and stop the motion.

11. In a Wood working machine, the combination of a bodily movablecutter, a Work table movable thereunder, a cam, means operable by saidcam for raising the cutter, a

pin on the cam, a sliding rod adapted to support the cutter when thecutter is not supported by the cam and located in a position to beengaged by said pin, and means oper able by said rod for stop ing themotion.

In testimony Whereo I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of twosubscribing Witnesses.

LEVI G; M'oKNIGI-IT.

Witnesses:

PHILIP WsSoUTHGATE E. M. ALLEN.

